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China’s Arms Sales

Motivations and Implications

Cover: China's Arms Sales

By: Daniel Byman, Roger Cliff

China’s arms sales have become the focus of considerable attention and pose a moderate threat to U.S. interests. Although Chinese sales have fallen in recent years, and Beijing has become more responsible in the transfer of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) technologies, much progress will be needed to curtail China’s behavior. Principal recipients of Chinese arms have been Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, and Thailand. These countries and others seek Chinese weapons because they are available, cheap, and easy to use and maintain. In addition to missiles, the Chinese are willing to transfer NBC technology. The United States and other countries do have a modest ability to influence Chinese behavior, and China has increasingly wished to be viewed as a responsible world nation. The analysis supports three major findings about China’s arms sale behavior: (1) China’s arms transfers not motivated primarily to generate export earnings but by foreign policy considerations; (2) China’s government has more control over transfers than some have reported: its weapons export system is quite centralized; and (3) China’s adherence to international nonproliferation norms is in fact increasing. Nevertheless, Washington must hedge against the likelihood of sales and develop offsets in concert with allies.

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Paperback Cover Price: $20.00

Discounted Web Price: $18.00

Pages: 73

ISBN/EAN: 0-8330-2776-X

Contents

Preface PDF

Summary PDF

Acknowledgments PDF

Chapter One:
Introduction PDF

Chapter Two:
Background PDF

Chapter Three:
Explaining China’s Arms Transfers PDF

Chapter Four:
Possible Constraints on China’s Arms Transfers PDF

Chapter Five:
Implications for the United States PDF

Appendix:
An Overview of China’s Arms Sales PDF

Bibliography PDF

This research was conducted within RAND’s Project AIR FORCE.

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